Yes, your house is wealth
Your house is wealth: you can sell the house and get a bunch of cash, and use that cash to pay rent from then on, without having to work for the rent money. You are richer than someone who doesn’t own a house. Thus, it is a form of wealth.
The top three net worth by asset type in the U.S (In percent, 2014 - 2015):
- Equity in own home (~ 34%);
- Retirement accounts (~ 29%);
- Stocks and mutual funds (~ 9%);
In the U.S., rich people have most of their wealth in stocks and bonds, while the middle class has most of its wealth in (mostly owner-occupied) housing.
In order to increase their own wealth, the vast majority of Americans have to make sure their home values go up and up and up:
The easiest way to pump up your house’s price is by using control of local politics to keep poor people out of the neighborhood and to artificially limit housing supply;
Local NIMBYism has basically become America’s national pastime, and it has resulted in a housing shortage in many of the most desirable locations.
NIMBYism: the behaviour of someone who does not want something to be built or done near where they live, although it does need to be built or done somewhere.
In China, the house is also the most valuable asset for a household.